Chapter 58

A chill raced up from Yang Siguang’s heels straight to the top of his skull.

He stood there, unable to move, staring fixedly at the male student.

How could he not have recognized him?

Yang Siguang even felt a trace of disbelief. Why did he find the other person so familiar? Naturally because that person had Li Chen’s face... No, no, no, strictly speaking, that person should be Li Chen himself.

As if an ineffable barrier had been abruptly pulled away from before his eyes, in a single instant, Yang Siguang perceived a multitude of details that were clearly within arm's reach yet had completely escaped his notice moments ago. He saw the coarse, dark stitches around the young man’s neck, his ashen cheeks, and the faint, mottled lividity spreading beneath the heavy foundation.

He also saw the distorted cranium and the dark, dried blood at his temples that had not been entirely wiped away.

Li Chen lowered his head toward him.

As if about to kiss him... and as if about to sink his teeth directly into his flesh, tearing the warm, blood-engorged meat away from the skull piece by piece.

Yang Siguang let out a low, piercing scream and, before he even realized it, pressed his hands against the person’s chest and shoved him hard away.

Unexpectedly, "Li Chen" staggered. He looked completely unprepared and was actually pushed backward by Yang Siguang.

"Hey, hey—it was just a truth-or-dare, not like I was going to eat you. Take it easy."

The young man almost fell straight to the ground, but fortunately managed to steady himself by grabbing the edge of the booth.

He looked somewhat surprised, then raised his head and spoke with helpless resignation to the shaken Yang Siguang.

"Li Chen" had vanished.

Yang Siguang’s heart was beating so fiercely it felt as if it were about to leap out of his throat, making everything around him appear unsteady, as though warping continuously in shimmering heat waves. He stared in uneasy bewilderment at the person before him. No matter how he looked at the male student, there was no connection to Li Chen whatsoever—he was simply an ordinary, somewhat familiar classmate from the same department.

Yet just a moment ago, he clearly...

"Come on, it was just a joke."

"Calm down, Yang Siguang, don't take it so seriously."

"How can it be called a dare if there's no difficulty involved..."

...

Guided by the surrounding whispers, Yang Siguang looked around in lingering panic at his classmates, who had been egging him on just moments ago. Astonishment was painted across all their faces; clearly, they too had been startled by Yang Siguang’s transient, over-the-counter reaction and were now awkwardly forcing smiles to smooth things over.

Yet no matter what they said, the atmosphere remained excruciatingly awkward.

And, quite obviously, in their eyes, everything was completely normal.

Not a single person had noticed the transformation upon the young man's body earlier.

Except for Yang Siguang himself.

Was it a hallucination just now? Was that really... truly a hallucination?

The ceiling of the bar seemed to be sinking down bit by bit, while the roaring and screaming of the band by his ears were deafening. To match the frantic rhythm, the lights in the bar flickered with increasing delirium. A dazzling glare bloomed before Yang Siguang’s eyes, and a faint taste of blood subtly arose in his mouth.

"...Or you can just choose truth? Forget about the dare."

The young man whom he had pushed aside earlier did not seem genuinely angry. Seeing Yang Siguang standing frozen, he smiled and walked back toward him.

"Sorry, I'm not playing anymore. I don't feel well... I feel like throwing up."

Before the other could finish, Yang Siguang batted away the hand extended toward him.

As his words fell, he covered his mouth tightly, lowered his head, and bolted out of the bar in a wretched flurry.

*

Yang Siguang really did vomit.

Separated by the walls, the howling ghost-like noises inside the bar finally faded into the distance.

Yang Siguang pressed his hand against the wall and looked down into the toilet bowl, where there was nothing except the sour, bitter gastric juices he had regurgitated and a few scattered clumps of food of unrecognizable shapes.

He thought back and remembered that those were the pastries Li Bo had handed to him earlier at the funeral parlor.

Right, it seemed he hadn't eaten anything else ever since then, nor had he felt any hunger.

So...

It was also quite possible that the hallucination had been caused by low blood sugar, considering he had just fainted from it not too long ago.

Yang Siguang pondered this earnestly.

When everything in his stomach had finally been expelled, he felt slightly better and mustered his spirits. Wobbling unsteadily, he walked out of the restroom—

And bumped straight into Xu Lu’s astonished face.

"Yang Siguang? You're here?!"

Xu Lu was still holding his phone, looking as though he had been in the middle of dialing. Upon seeing Yang Siguang, he quickly flicked off the screen, a surge of pleasant surprise washing over his face.

"Great! I actually thought you were going to stand me up. I was just about to call you."

Hearing this, Yang Siguang froze and forced a stiff twitch of his lips.

"I’ve been here for a while," he said flatly. "I tried to greet you then, but you looked like you were chatting happily with your friends, so I didn't crowd in. Anyway, I'm not feeling well today, so I won't be drinking with you guys. You all enjoy yourselves, I'll head off first—"

Xu Lu interrupted him with a face full of bewilderment.

"Friends? What friends? I've been squatting right at the entrance of the bar waiting for you the whole time."

"But didn't you have quite a few friends? They were all clustered right there..."

Yang Siguang spoke instinctively, but as he went on, his voice involuntarily trailed away.

Past Xu Lu’s shoulder, he looked far off toward the bar.

The lighting there was dim, the music gentle.

Couples were curled up in high-backed seats, whispering softly. Only the area near the bar counter was slightly brighter, where a bartender spoke in hushed tones, recommending cocktails to a solo customer lingering for a chat...

This place resembled a salon much more than a noisy, clamorous bar.

Or rather, it was not the bar Yang Siguang had been in previously at all.

That place had clearly been a swarming, howling cavern of ghosts, where the glaring lights had blinded him upon entry so that he could barely manage a greeting to Xu Lu... No, wait, was the person standing there earlier, locking arms and laughing loudly with a group of people, truly Xu Lu?

Cold sweat suddenly soaked through Yang Siguang’s spine, while Xu Lu beside him remained entirely oblivious, chattering away in desperate explanation.

"How could I possibly be hanging out with a bunch of people? It’s not like we’re going to a karaoke lounge. Besides, I'm only drinking this time because I failed the CET-6. Such an embarrassing thing—how could I possibly call a whole crowd of friends to come watch me make a fool of myself? Siguang, are you making excuses or did you just mistake someone else for me? Seriously, I'm so wrongly accused..."

After a long while without receiving any response, Xu Lu turned his head back, only to see the person beside him as white as paper, his entire face devoid of a shred of color. Only then did he vaguely sense that something was amiss.

"Uh, I-I didn't mean to blame you either. I just... are you alright? You look like you're about to..."

Xu Lu’s voice trailed off, apparently finally recalling that Yang Siguang had told him earlier he wasn't feeling well.

"Tsk. Fine, if you don't want to drink, we won't drink. You look way too terrifying like this."

He abruptly changed the subject.

Yang Siguang watched as Xu Lu raised a hand to check the time. After hesitating for a few seconds, the latter gave a light cough and, with visible nervousness, spoke to Yang Siguang with feigned composure.

"Still, it's getting awfully late. Seeing how you look like you could pass out at any second, I wouldn't be at ease leaving you by yourself. How about... how about you come back to the dorm with me for the night and make do?"

Xu Lu said dryly, his eyes shifting evasively.

No need—

Going by his usual habits, Yang Siguang almost blurted this out.

Yet precisely at this moment, the glass door at the entrance of the bar seemed to flicker.

Yang Siguang no longer had any way to judge whether his nerves were simply taut to the breaking point, whether it was another hallucination brought on by low blood sugar, or if he had genuinely encountered a ghost. In that fleeting second, he indeed saw a slender, familiar figure flash across the reflection of the bar's glass door.

He shivered with a creeping horror.

Then he realized that, at least for this night... he didn't want to be alone for even a single moment.

"Okay."

Then he heard himself say to Xu Lu.

*

Clearly, even Xu Lu himself had not expected that Yang Siguang would actually agree to return to the dormitory with him.

All the way back, the young man appeared somewhat overly excited.

Acting as if he were afraid Yang Siguang might change his mind halfway, the moment they stepped out of the bar, Xu Lu swiftly hailed a taxi and sent both himself and Yang Siguang straight to the foot of University A's dormitory building.

Because they were seniors, the dormitory management was quite lax. Before long, Yang Siguang had been led upstairs by Xu Lu and was seated on the lower bunk of their dorm room.

According to Xu Lu, none of his other roommates bothered to stay overnight anymore, leaving him to enjoy the entire room to himself in peace.

"...Those guys are either busy with their girlfriends or acting as cheap interns at some company. Anyway, I haven't seen them in ages, so don't be too stiff—just pick any spot you like and go to sleep. Oh, right, the bedding is brand new, I'll make the bed for you!"

Xu Lu had been quite thrilled upon arrival, but once Yang Siguang was actually inside his dorm, he grew somewhat flustered, pulling quilts and bedsheets from the wardrobe and clutching them to his chest as he stared eagerly at Yang Siguang.

Yang Siguang could no longer afford to stand on ceremony.

Ever since stepping out of the bar, his headache had begun to recur, accompanied by a persistent, throbbing ache in his eye sockets.

At this moment, he only wanted to find a place to lie down and sleep soundly.

Ideally, he would have no more nightmares, and would not... would not be haunted anymore by the person he once longed for.

Therefore, he simply pointed casually at a lower bunk near the door, made the bed himself with the quilt and sheets, and collapsed onto it in exhaustion.

Xu Lu eagerly brought him a glass of water, fussing about him with bright, glowing eyes, utterly devoid of the misery he had wept over on the phone earlier regarding his failed exam.

Seeing him act this way, Yang Siguang could only force himself to exchange desultory remarks with him for a while. Just as his mind was drifting away in a daze, he abruptly heard the person beside him ask in a solemn tone.

"Uhm, Siguang... if I ask something, don't get mad, okay?"

"Hmm?"

"Well, it's just... you and Lord Li, you guys really don't have anything going on, right?"

Yang Siguang gave a sudden start, his wandering soul abruptly snapping back into his body. He abruptly turned his head to look at Xu Lu, only to see the latter sitting on the bed opposite him. The shadow of the upper bunk fell across the young man's face, making his expression somewhat ambiguous.